Yes, we had a whopping cough outbreak here because we have some lovely granola-eating types 'round here who go blahblahblahherdimmunityblahblahautism.

Not quite as bad as the folks who claim their kid has a gluten-dairy-egg-meat-nut "allergy", or so says their doctor- that is, their Doctor of Naturopathic and Eastern medicine. I imagine that kid had a fun-filled life.

It's faith with these people. Sometimes it's paired with some religious creed...sometimes it's part of the anti-gov, free-market paranoia/mania, but either way it's no different than religion. Using facts, science and logic to convince these people that they are wrong about vaccination is like trying to convince a devout Muslim that Muhammad is not the prophet, or trying to convince an orthodox Jew that Moses never parted the Red Sea. It's even worse with the Ayn Rand fans. People like this once occupied the lunatic fringe, but they are now a sizable minority, with millions of adherents, and are capable of tilling national elections their way. This is why Murica is doomed.

We need to see a reverse psychology version of this study. Tell parents that we only have a limited amount of these vaccines, and the free market dictates that they go to the highest bidder. They will be demanding accessible, affordable vaccinations in no time. Give it to them, and let them think they won a David v. Goliath battle against Big Pharma.

You cannot be reasoned out of a position you weren't reasoned into. This news is so old that when yo mama was your age she said this news is so old that when yo mama was your age she said this news is so old that when yo mama....

A large set of anti vaccers are liberals... no study has shown large sets being tea party... so.. lolwut?

Citation Needed.

There is a bit of crossover of cranky libertarian anti-vaccination people. But for the most part they seem to be crunchy granola new age hippie types who are simply ignorant, misinformed, and tremendously suspicious of the "industry" side of the medical industry.

I think I'll step in here. Many on the fringe left believe that the government/corporation axis hides the truth about anything that might cut into the bottom line. These people' faith is in their all-knowing paranoia, not in a god. So it isn't all religious fanatacism, just an other kind of the same closed-mindedness. Besides, Jesus is an extraterrestrial.

Schmerd1948:I think I'll step in here. Many on the fringe left believe that the government/corporation axis hides the truth about anything that might cut into the bottom line. These people' faith is in their all-knowing paranoia, not in a god. So it isn't all religious fanatacism, just an other kind of the same closed-mindedness. Besides, Jesus is an extraterrestrial.

someonelse:We need to see a reverse psychology version of this study. Tell parents that we only have a limited amount of these vaccines, and the free market dictates that they go to the highest bidder. They will be demanding accessible, affordable vaccinations in no time. Give it to them, and let them think they won a David v. Goliath battle against Big Pharma.

If you can get the individuals behind the 'bikini bridge' hoax to jump on this idea, the resulting flood of news stories might turn your idea into reality. The anti-vaxers I've met all tend to follow bizarre news sources, and would believe a new conspiracy almost immediately. And the rest of us could stop having to worry about the lack of herd immunity. Do it!

Some people aren't built for science. That's fine. It's not a bad thing. But then they're permitted to make very important decisions that influence the lives of others in deadly ways. This is not cool. So if the question can't be "how can we convince them?" It must be "How do we stop them?"

cherryl taggart:someonelse: We need to see a reverse psychology version of this study. Tell parents that we only have a limited amount of these vaccines, and the free market dictates that they go to the highest bidder. They will be demanding accessible, affordable vaccinations in no time. Give it to them, and let them think they won a David v. Goliath battle against Big Pharma.

If you can get the individuals behind the 'bikini bridge' hoax to jump on this idea, the resulting flood of news stories might turn your idea into reality. The anti-vaxers I've met all tend to follow bizarre news sources, and would believe a new conspiracy almost immediately. And the rest of us could stop having to worry about the lack of herd immunity. Do it!

doubled99:Yeah great study, the same goes for just about any highly controversial topic that exists today.

It's only "controversial" the same way that Mr. Obama's native citizenship is "controversial"--brought up over and over by lunatic fringe dipshiats who would greatly improve humanity by ceasing to swim in the gene pool.

MassAsster:They needed a study for this? The Literal bible translation brigade wasn't enough to show that stupid people stick to stupid ideas no matter how stupid they look?

/Stupid.

They did need a study for this. Anti-vaccine is an infection in liberal minds far more than it is conservative (see also "Shopping at Whole Foods"). There is a prejudice that liberals are magically immune from being stupid.

ragekage:Yes, we had a whopping cough outbreak here because we have some lovely granola-eating types 'round here who go blahblahblahherdimmunityblahblahautism.

Hey now, don't lump us granola eating types in with the Anti-Vaxxars. A lot of us wish they would just move to another state and die off already. From my experience, the granola eating types are less likely to follow organized religion and are more open to science and tech (at least here in Northern California).